Apparatuses comprising various means for unwinding, forwarding, debossing or embossing, and/or perforating, and rewinding of a ribbon or web of thermoplastic film are disclosed in the prior art: see for instance, U.S. Pat. Re. No. 23,910--Method Of And Apparatus For Producing Textured Films which issued Dec. 14, 1954 to L. H. Smith et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,054,148--Process Of Producing A Perforated Thermoplastic Sheet which issued Sept. 18, 1962 to W. F. Zimmerli; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,567,275--Apparatus And Method Of Goffering Thermoplastic Materials which issued Sept. 11, 1951 to R. Colombo. See also the German Offenlegungsschrift 2,409,496 which teaches the use of radially inwardly impinging hot air jets in combination with vacuum inside a cylinder having a perforated surface to cause a thermoplastic sheet passing therebetween to become perforated. Also, reference U.S. Pat. No. 3,674,221--Dynamic Stress-Strain Testing Of Ribbons Of Film which issued July 4, 1972 to Coenraad E. Riemersma.
The prior art also discloses various methods of making perforated members: see for instance U.S. Pat. No. 3,453,712--Method of Making A Porous Roll which issued July 8, 1969 to R. G. MacKendrick; U.S. Pat. No. 3,613,208--Method of Fabricating A Perforated Panel For A Vacuum Work-Holder Or Chuck which issued Oct. 19, 1971 to H. A. Seberg et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,247,579--Circuit Fabrication Method which issued April 26, 1966 to L. H. Cattermole et al.
The prior art does not disclose, however, solutions to all of the problems associated with providing a method of and apparatus for uniformly embossing and perforating a web of thermoplastic material, or a method of making a suitable perforated tubular member for use in such an apparatus in the manner of or degree of the present invention.